NEW DELHI: After T shirts and masks, the Congress MPs on Tuesday protested outside Parliament donning “Modi-Adani” bags, which had caricatures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and billionaire Gautam Adani printed and ‘Modi Adani Bhai Bhai’ written on the side.
This marks the latest in a string of opposition attacks on the government, alleging that it is sidestepping discussions about the bribery allegations involving Adani in the US.
“The parties of the INDIA alliance want to discuss the Adani mega scam, but the Modi government is continuously running away from it. Today the leaders of INDIA alliance protested against this dictatorship of Modi government,” the Congress posted on its social media handle.
A fresh blame game also has erupted between the government and opposition over who is responsible for the unabated parliamentary disruptions. While Kiren Rijiju categorically singled out the Congress of staging “stunts” that caused disruptions, the Congress countered, claiming that the government was avoiding discussions and it was not the opposition.
Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi chaired a meeting of Congress Lok Sabha MPs to discuss the Parliament session. The meeting was also attended by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who later remarked, “We try every day to have a discussion, but they don’t want to engage. That’s why they find any excuse to adjourn the House.”
Earlier in the day, Union minister of parliamentary affairs Kiren Rijiju slammed the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the mock interview, saying while MPs from other parties like TMC, SP want to engage in Parliament debate and discussion, Rahul Gandhi wants to bring the proceedings to a standstill by creating “tamasha”.
Seeking to highlight the rift in the opposition front, Rijiju said, “Rahul Gandhi enjoys creating a tamasha and abusing the Prime Minister but other MPs have responsibilities towards the people who have elected them.
“Whatever may be the issues, we should not disrupt the parliamentary proceedings. Many MPs including MPs from the Samajwadi Party, TMC and the Congress have come to me. The entire Congress party in Rajya Sabha are looking for debate and discussion in the House. It is only Rahul Gandhi who doesn’t want to take part in the parliamentary proceeding. But all other MPs are very interested in having debates and discussions in the House. Every MP is concerned about their constituency.” he told news agency ANI.
Earlier on Monday, some leaders of INDIA bloc protested in Parliament complex over the Adani row, with Rahul Gandhi conducting a mock interview over the issue with Congress members wearing masks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani. However, members of Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) and Samajwadi Party were not a part of the protest. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) MP Supriya Sule was also not present in the protest.
From the outset of the winter session, both Houses have faced repeated disruptions. Yesterday was no different, with proceedings getting washed out with BJP alleging Congress’s links with George Soros and the opposition party claiming that the Adani group was being shielded by BJP. After repeated adjournments, both Houses were adjourned for the whole day amid heated exchanges.